Improvement in chain-shot for ordnance



J. GAULT.

Projectile.

' Patented Mar.11, 1862.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN GA'U'LT, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT lN CHAlN SHOT FOR ORDN ANCE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 34,628. dated March 11, 1862,

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN GAULT, of Boston, Suffolk county, Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Ordnance Projectile; and I hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and the letters of reference marked thereon, in which the same letter represents the same thing in each figure.

My invention consists in the construction of an elongated hollow projectile with two or more movable sections formed by a longitudinal division of its body, connected by a chain or other connection, and the rear end fitted with a band or its equivalent, and the front end with a cap or nut which keep the said sections together in compact form when inserted into the gun and during the first part of its flight, and with a cavity or chamber between and within the said sections, to contain a charge of powder and a fuse for the purpose of bursting said band and cap and spreading the said sections by its explosion, giving them a wide sweep, thereby making it more destructive in its continued flight. The fuse can be so regulated as to burst the cap and expand the sections at any desired distance within the range of the gun from which it is discharged. The band at the rear end of the projectile may be constructed with flanges or projections to fit the grooves of rifled ordnance, or it may be made plain.

Figure 1 represents a longitudinal view of the projectile, representing it in the condition in which it is placed in the gun. Fig. 2 represents a cut section of the projectile, with the fuse and charge shown in position. Fig. 3 represents a cut section of the projectile, showing the groove for the fuse and charge, and the chain connecting Figs. 2 and 3.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will describe its construction and operution.

My projectile, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, is constructed with two movable sections, A A connected by a chain, D, fastened to said sections by staples H H, said sections being made hollow to admit the chain,

and fitted on the rear end with a metallic band or cup, B B, which is screwed on for the purpose of holding said sections together after they have been closed up. The outside surface of said band or cup may be made of Babbitt metal and fitted to the grooves of the gun, for the purpose of giving to the projectile the necessary windage in its flight. To assist in holding the said sections together securely, I screw onto the front end of the projectile the cap or nut O O, which is made of suitable material to keep the sections together until the desired explosion takes place.

The sections A A may be connected by a chain of any desired dimensions, according to the size of the projectile, whether used as against shipping or on the field.

In Fig. 2 letters E E represent the charge of powder, which is fitted by a cartridge to cavities G G, which extend along the edges of the sections, on the inside, nearly the whole length of the projectile, in order to throw off both the nut and band by its explosion. The fuse F is connected with the charge E E, and may be ignited when put into the gun, or by the explosion of the charge in the gun, and be so timed that the charge E E will not explode until the projectile is thrown the desired distance to do the greatest excution, when the charge E E explodes, throwing off the cap and band, and extending the sections the full length of the chain, making it a most formidable instrument of destruction.

Having thus described my invention, what I:

claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. The combination of the hollow sectional projectile, connected with a chain or its equivalent, inclosed and carried within itself, and the charge regulated by the fuse to extend its sections at any desired point, as set forth.

2. The securing the sections of the proj ect ile at its front end or point with a cap or nut, or its equivalent, as described, and for the purposes set forth. JOHN GAULT.

Witnesses:

GEO. H. COLLIXS,

GHAs. MORRILL. 

